BADIN, Oct 29: The growers of various areas of the district held a protest demonstration and observed sit-in outside the office of the director, Left Bank Canal, and the superintendent engineer, Fuleli canals, on Tuesday against the shortage of water in all the waterways of the district.

Several hundred growers arrived here in tractor trolleys from all the five Tehsils of the district to participate in the protest.

The protest call was given by the Abadgar Committee, Badin District.

The protesters, led by the Abadgar Committee’s president, Syed Zafar Ali Shah, and its secretary, Anwar Ali Khwaja, marched on the main roads chanting slogans against the irrigation officials.

Talking to newsmen, the representatives of growers’ organizations said that the water shortage was artificial as water was available in the Indus River.

They said it was due to flawed and unfair distribution by irrigation officials.

They said due to the inefficiency of the irrigation staff they had to suffer as their crops were being destroyed.

They said they were unable to even meet the food requirements of their families and many of them were being forced to look for some other work.

The growers alleged the irrigation officials of creating artificial shortage of water. They alleged they were distributing water to influential people.

They said they had complained to the higher authorities, even to the minister of irrigation, but in vain.

They regretted that the government had failed to punish those officials who were at fault.

The growers dispersed after having observed a seven-hour sit-in when the superintendent engineer, Fuleli canals, Sain Bukhsh Mangrio, assured them that water would be provided through proper rotation in all the sub-divisions of the district.

He said that from Nov 1 to 8 water would be available in the Gaja sub-division waterways, and from Nov 8 to 16 in the Shadi Large sub-division canals and the Kazia sub-division waterways, and from Nov 16 to 23 in the minors and distributaries of the Kadhan sub-division.